


Be My Valentine

by jeweldancer



Series: Cas and Dean [29]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Destiel - Freeform, Domestic destiel, Fluff, Food, M/M, Valentine's Day, romantic dinner
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-15
Updated: 2016-02-15
Packaged: 2018-05-20 15:42:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6014638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jeweldancer/pseuds/jeweldancer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is Valentine's Day Destiel fluff, pure and simple. It's part of a series, but if you haven't read the rest, it's okay. This chapter works well on its own. </p>
<p>I apologize for the unreasonable cuteness that follows. It's all Dean and Castiel's fault.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Be My Valentine

**Author's Note:**

> I have skipped ahead in the time line of this series just so I can post the Valentine's Day entry on the actual holiday. Don't worry, I'll be going back to fill in the rest very soon! Happy Valentine's Day, my lovelies!

Cas had never liked Valentine's Day. While everyone else spent the evening at a romantic restaurant, he would always find himself eating takeout alone, carefully avoiding the romantic comedies on television. He had figured he'd never celebrate Valentine's Day with a significant other, and he'd tried to pretend it didn't matter. 

This year, by the first of February, Cas was as giddy as a teenage girl with a crush. This year, he had Dean. He was going to celebrate Valentine's Day with Dean, and he was unreasonably excited. 

Dean brought up the subject first. "Hey, Cas. Um, so Valentine's Day is coming up. Do you want to go out? If you do, I can make some reservations. I better do it soon, though. All the good places will be full."

Cas considered. As awesome as it would be to go to a fancy restaurant on Dean's arm, he kind of wanted his boyfriend all to himself. Valentine's Day at a popular spot would be crowded and noisy. Cas shook his head. "I'd rather it just be me and you. Um, if you don't mind."

Dean's face quickly lit up with a smile. "It sounds perfect. Going out on that particular night is always hell. I would like to take you out, though. Maybe the weekend after? When it's not as busy."

"Yeah. I'd like that." Cas was blushing a little. He could imagine the stares as they entered the restaurant--Dean Winchester in a tie and jacket was a thing of beauty--and the jealous looks as everyone figured out that he was with Castiel. Really, how had he gotten so lucky?

"Jess and Sam are going away for the weekend. Romantic getaway, you know. So we'll have the place to ourselves. Candlelit dinner, sappy movie...whatever you want, babe."

Cas gathered the courage to tell Dean what he'd been thinking about. "I think that sounds great. But...you've taken such good care of me lately that I'd like to return the favor. I want to cook for you this time." 

Dean was touched, and opened his mouth to protest, but he could see by the hopeful look in Cas's eyes that it meant a lot to him. If he insisted on helping, Cas might feel hurt. "That sounds awesome, babe."

Cas was pleased. It wasn't often that Dean allowed others to take care of him without objecting. "It'll be great, Dean. I'm going to take care of everything."

God, he hoped he didn't live to regret those words. Dean was a great cook, while Cas's skills in the kitchen left something to be desired. Still, it was the only way he knew to show Dean his gratitude. He would figure something out.

The next morning, as soon as Dean left for work, Cas was on the phone with Charlie. "Help. HELP. I've made a big mistake."

Charlie giggled. "I think it's sweet, Cas. Dean will really appreciate the effort."

"He may appreciate the effort, but he won't appreciate the burned food. What am I gonna do?"

"Calm down. You should go take a cooking class. You know that cooking supply store in the mall? They have classes where you can learn how to make a complete meal. That's what you should do."

"I know nothing about cooking, Charlie. They'll laugh at me."

"That's the whole point of cooking classes. If you knew how to do it already, you wouldn't be there." Charlie thought for a moment. "Look, I'll get off work early this Friday. We can go together."

"Charlie. You are the absolute best ever. I will owe you big time after this."

"Shh. It'll be good for me, too. I can't cook anything more difficult than grilled cheese."

Cas looked up the number of the store, and took a deep breath before calling them to reserve two spots in the next class. With this accomplished, he stuck his phone in his back pocket with relief. That was enough phone calls for one day.

He gathered his things and set out for his apartment. He was working on a Valentine's Day gift--a man had commissioned a portrait of his fiancee. Cas thought that it was odd to gift someone with a painting of herself, but who was he to judge? Maybe his fiancee was a bit narcissistic. At any rate, he was taking great care to portray her in an attractive light. He didn't want any complaints about ruining Valentine's Day.

On Friday, Cas met Charlie near the food court, and they got cups of coffee before walking to the store. The instructor thought that they were a couple, and cooed over how darling they were together. Cas was afraid Charlie would be offended, but she only winked and whispered, "Just go with it."

The planned menu was braised short ribs, roasted brussels sprouts with bacon, and brown butter sweet potato mash. Cas swallowed hard. He couldn't make even one of these dishes, much less all of them. "I have doubts that Dean will like brussels sprouts," he whispered to Charlie.

"Dude, they have bacon in them. Bacon makes everything better."

Cas's hands shook as he picked up a knife. He was glad Charlie was there. If she hadn't been, he probably would have excused himself to make a phone call and not come back. "Thanks again for coming with me."

"Oh, I have a feeling it's gonna work out okay for me too." Charlie gave him a wink. "There's a girl at work I've been wanting to ask out for a while, and this morning I invited her over for a fancy Valentine's Day dinner. She was so impressed that I could cook, she said yes."

Cas giggled. "Does she know you're only learning to cook two days beforehand?"

"No, and she never will. In fact, you can return the favor to me by coming to another one of these classes. If we have a second date, I'll have to expand my repertoire."

Cas was pleasantly surprised to find that a few of his classmates were even more hopeless in the kitchen than he was. Sarah, the instructor, was friendly and enthusiastic, and as the class progressed, he became more confident. The proposed dessert for the menu was a dark chocolate mousse, and although Cas enjoyed it, he had other plans for his dinner.

Cas worked until lunch on Valentine's Day, then took the rest of the day off. He hit the grocery store first, then returned to Dean's apartment with arms full of supplies. He started by putting the short ribs on to roast, and then prepared his suprise dessert. Then on to the side dishes. Cas wiped a bead of sweat off his forehead. Good cooking was hard. Dean always made it look so simple. He had a renewed appreciation for all the delicious meals Dean produced. 

Cas was working with such intense concentration that he was startled by the phone ringing. It was Dean.

"Hey, babe, I'm running a little behind. I'll be a little later than I said."

Instead of being disappointed, Cas breathed a sigh of relief. He could really use some extra cooking time. "It's all right, Dean. You're stopping to get wine, right?"

"Sure will. I'll see you as soon as I can."

The delicious smell of short ribs was beginning to fill the apartment, and the side dishes seemed to be coming along nicely. Cas arranged his dessert on a tray and set the table. Then he finished up the brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes. Thankfully, everything he prepared would be able to sit for a few minutes without any harm. Cas flopped on the couch to rest for a minute before Dean got home.

Fifteen minutes later, Dean entered the apartment, red wine and roses in hand, to find Cas sound asleep on the couch, still in his apron. "God, you're so freakin' cute," Dean mumbled to himself. He sat down next to Cas and stroked his hair to wake him.

Cas jolted awake and tried to jump off the couch. "Dean! You're here! Everything's almost ready."

"It's okay, Cas. You go ahead while I take a really quick shower. No more than five minutes, I promise."

Dean returned in the promised amount of time, hair slightly damp, wearing jeans and a button-down shirt. Cas stared. "You look delicious," he blurted out before thinking.

Dean grinned. "So do you. You always do." He kissed Cas on the temple.

Cas went to change his shirt and comb his hair, nervously hoping that everything would go well. When he came back to the kitchen, Dean handed him a glass of wine and a bunch of dark red roses. "I know it's kinda cliched," he admitted shyly, "but I wanted you to have everything that goes along with Valentine's Day."

Cas was stunned. "They're beautiful. No one ever got me flowers before." He ran his fingers over the soft petals gently.

"You deserve everything, Cas," Dean whispered. He watched Cas play with the roses, a warm feeling blossoming in his chest. He really hadn't expected Cas to be so pleased with them, and made a mental note to bring him flowers from time to time. Dean cleared his throat. "I brought you a card, too."

He handed Cas a red envelope sheepishly. "It's really dorky, but...well, here."

Cas opened it eagerly, and found a drawing of a dog bringing breakfast in bed to another dog, along with a cute poem. On the inside, Dean had written, "Be My Valentine? ;) Love, Dean." 

"I know it's dumb, but I thought of the times I was feeling rough, and you brought me breakfast in bed, and..."

Dean was interrupted by Castiel's lips being pressed to his. When they finally separated, Dean stammered, "Well, um, I guess you liked it then?"

"It's perfect. Now, do you have something like a vase for the roses? We can put them on the table while we eat."

Dean was enthusiastic enough in his praise of the food that even Cas believed him, and they both ate too much to hold dessert. The wine bottle had been emptied, and Dean rummaged in the kitchen to find another. "We'll take a break before dessert, but if it's anything like the rest of the meal, it's not to be missed."

Cas grinned. "Let's watch the sappy movie that you promised me, then."

A few minutes later, they were snuggled on the couch, watching a Hallmark Channel original movie. They were both just tipsy enough to find it hilarious. "Sooo. The big city girl is back in her hometown, and she just happens to run into her high school boyfriend, who got divorced last year? Very original."

"Shut up, Dean."

Three-quarters of the way through the movie, having steadily worked their way through a good portion of the next wine bottle, they no longer cared about the ending. "Happy fluffy blah-blah-blah bullshit," Cas said confidently. "Let's eat dessert now. I'll bring it in here, but you have to shut your eyes. It's a surprise."

Dean closed his eyes and hummed happily. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt so warm and content. He heard footsteps come from the kitchen, and felt Cas at his side. 

"Open up," Cas whispered into his ear, and placed a bite-sized pecan pie in his mouth. Dean bit down through a crunchy topping, gooey filling, and perfectly flaky crust.

It was divine. He moaned and chewed slowly, savoring the taste. "Cas. That is probably the best thing I've ever eaten. It's better than regular pecan pie. The crust-to-filling ratio..."

Cas hushed Dean by feeding him another pie. It was just as good as the first. Dean ate seven in all, and Cas had five.

"Hands down the best meal I've ever had, Cas."

"You're just saying that because you're drunk, Dean."

"Nope. It's true. I never lie when I'm drunk."

"Dean! I know! We should dance."

"As much as we've been drinking, I don't think that's a good idea."

"Nooo. Like slow dancing. I've never slow danced with anyone."

"Never? Wait, we can't have that." Dean muted the television and found a jazz station on the radio. "Cas? May I have this dance?"

"I thought you'd never ask."

Dean wrapped his arms around Cas, and they swayed slowly to the music. "This is the best," Cas whispered, laying his head on Dean's shoulder.

"You wanna hear a secret?"

"Do you promise not to tell?" Cas sing-songed the next line from the Beatles song.

"No, like a real secret." Dean lowered his voice, as if there were someone else around to hear. "I think Sammy's gonna ask Jess to marry him this weekend."

"What?!?" Cas shouted.

"Shh!"

"Dean. That is a-fucking-mazing."

"Right? I can't believe it. My baby brother."

"They're so good together. They'll be so happy."

"Cas? Are there any more of those little pecan pies?"

"You're gonna be sick."

"It's okay. You'll take care of me."

"I will," Cas whispered. "I always will."

 

The dishes prepared in Cas's cooking class are from the February issue of the Food Network Magazine, which I found at my mom's house and used for inspiration. The card that inspired the one Dean gave Cas is here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/232216328/breakfast-in-bed-pug-valentines-day-card?ref=related-2


End file.
